Instrumental Focus

cello

Brinton Averil Smith, cello, has performed throughout the world as a solo, chamber, and orchestral musician. Mr. Smith appears regularly as a soloist with the Houston Symphony, where he is the principal cellist, and was previously a member of the New York Philharmonic and the principal cellist of the San Diego and Fort Worth symphonies. He is a faculty member of the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University and of the Aspen and Sarasota music festivals, and has given masterclasses throughout the world. His recordings of Miklós Rózsa’s Cello Concerto and of chamber music of Fauré with Gil Shaham both received international critical acclaim, and his upcoming world premiere recording of the Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Cello Concerto will be released on Naxos. His solo performances have been broadcast throughout the world, including on CBS Sunday Morning, NPR’s Performance Today, and SymphonyCast, while his live concert videos on YouTube have received nearly a million views. Mr. Smith was admitted part-time to Arizona State University at age ten and completed a bachelor’s degree in mathematics at age seventeen. He received his master’s and doctoral degrees at Juilliard studying with Zara Nelsova, whom he first met as a student at Aspen.